Compass
by Jkit45
Summary: After the ordeal on the collector base, the crew arrives on Illium for treatment. However, within hours Shepard disappears. As it becomes apparent the Commander is in trouble, her crew rushes to find leads to her captors. Garrus/Femshep.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! So it's official, I'm a hot mess when it comes to posting things on here. Here's a new idea for a story I came up with today. I'm working a demanding job, so I need to come home and do something to calm my brain down. Still having writers block with the original stuff, so here goes. **

**Also—it's apparently a thing for me to name all my Mass Effect stories after country songs. I think Compass by: Lady Antebellum is a really cute song, and I think it fits Garrus/Femshep well in this story. Look it up if you want. **

**Disclaimer: Mass Effect and all related characters/settings belong to Bioware. **

**This takes place after the attack on the collector base. **

**COMPASS**

**Chapter 1: **

Illium wasn't his favorite place to be. It never had been. Something about the narrow streets, the rather unfortunate amount of windows with perfect sniping vantages. Plenty of places for people to be watching, for gunmen to creep. _Guess their crime is a little classier here. _Garrus tried to assure himself, at least in this higher end of town.

White collar crime? Was that what Shepard called it when she'd gone out on a walk with Liara carrying nothing more than her sidearm despite his firm suggestions to go in full armor? That was the last time they were here, a while ago. Garrus didn't really remember, but after the events the past days, he needed a shore leave. Even if that leave was on Illium—the closest trustworthy(?) place they could get to repair their damaged hull and treat the injuries of various crew members.

A least it was some time to rest and forget about the fight. Shepard wanted to be alone too, she'd shut herself into her quarters the hours prior. Not that Garrus blamed her, though he wished his mind clearing time was spent in the human woman's bed rather than wandering the streets of Illium. Maybe even in one of these fancy Illum hotels with her. Garrus knew better than to disturb Shepard when she wanted to be alone.

_Maybe you should have disturbed her. _Upon returning from the Collector base, the two had discussed their prior actions. Yes, she'd said, there was more to them than the sex. Garrus felt good, better than he had in a long time, alive, a beautiful human girlfriend waiting for him on the Normandy. A turian's heart couldn't be much happier.

They'd beaten the odds again. Survived and went on to tell about their adventures, everyone alive save for a few cuts and withdrawal from whatever drugs the collectors were feeding them while in the pods. The doctors said they'd make a full recovery. He found it strange humans had such weaknesses despite their physical resilience to different diseases and climates, something as simple as removing a drug from the body even after a short time period wrecked havoc on the complex systems.

Garrus remembered watching Shepard's face mere hours ago, watching her fear melt away and her exhaustion finally overtake her strong features when the asari doctor delivered the news. Everyone was to be alright. She dragged herself back to the Normandy.

He wished they were on the Citadel, back home, on Alliance turf where Cerberus wouldn't dare bother them. The crew seemed content on Illium, not to mention near Liara who'd set up the best mechanics in town to fix their poor battered ship, "Garrus." Jacob said, joining him at the balcony on the strip, peering over into the rush of cabs. Red taillights winked as they disappeared into the distant, foggy air.

"You alright, Taylor?"

"Yeah. Just weird, you know? Walking away from Cerberus…" The man's voice trailed off. As far as Cerberus agents went, Garrus didn't mind him. He'd gotten a few chances to talk to Jacob, and had come to the conclusion that the man was one of the few good humans out there.

One of the few like Shepard, "Commander…" He cleared his throat, trying not to show his unease at bringing up anything remotely related to a relationship. As far as Garrus knew, their _interactions_ were only rumors to the rest of the crew, "Commander come out of her quarters yet?"

_Well, good going, Garrus. Just give it all away, _"Heh. She could probably use some… stress relief after everything." Jacob gave him a pat on the arm.

_So they know. _Jacob didn't seem too concerned with his commander and Garrus' extracurricular activities. Garrus pushed it, trying to discretely get a human opinion. Perhaps Shepard really did want to blow off some more steam, "Don't want to bother her…seems tired."

"Hardly blame her. It's been a long mission." Jacob replied, and they stood in a comfortable silence. Garrus tried not to let his eyes tire. This was still Illium, and he couldn't let his guard down too much.

How nice it sounded to curl up beside Shepard's warm body, feel her hot breath on his mandibles. Somewhere he could actually rest his eyes. Certainly tempting thoughts. He wondered suddenly, panicked, if he should have asked Shepard out on a date while they were here on their leave. Was she waiting for him up there? He felt stressed. _No. Get a hold of yourself. She's tired. _

Shepard liked her space, which Garrus respected and related to. Most of his other relationships with turians had been strictly informal. As a human, she was something new to him all together. A ball of emotions, hormones, not too different from turians but alien enough to confuse him. Not that Shepard showed much of her emotions. Garrus knew they were down there, somewhere underneath her dark eyes.

He stood a few more moments, enjoying the air and the smells, forcing himself to relax and look out, _no one's going to hurt us here. White collar crime. We have no quarrel with Illium businesses and we're on Liara's turf. Nice part of town. No mercs. _

Garrus tried to assure himself, over and over, unable to deny the idea that something was wrong, "Bye, Taylor." His decision was made. No point sleeping alone if he didn't have to.

"Say 'hi' to Shepard for me." Jacob smirked, and pushed away from the railing as well, heading further down the strip.

_Keep walking. _Garrus thought at the man, but couldn't deny his desire. Go see Shepard. Celebrate. He tried not to let his mind get too carried away on the hike to the Normandy. He'd wandered much further from the dock than he'd thought, and regretted that now.

_Shepard lay against his shoulder, their chests heaving, sweat glimmering on her tanned skin, "That was good. I should have tried turians sooner." She laughed, a low, sweet sound coming from her. _

_ "Glad I could meet your standards." He chuckled, her flat, rough teeth met his mandible, nibbling gently against his cheek. He pushed her bobbed dark hair back, feeling the strands between his claws, tugging gently. _

_ "Hey, don't pull! That hurts!" _

_ He let go, jumping, "S-sorry." _

_ "Don't worry, I'm sure I've put you in more than a few awkward positions tonight, Vakarian." Shepard laughed again. _

He wanted to relive those experiences. Roll around with her and then fall asleep, no arrival at a banned relay to interrupt their intimacy. Garrus was so focused on getting back to the ship, that he almost ran into Tali. He went to mutter an apology to her, certain that the quarian had her own plans not concerning him.

"Garrus!" She called out as the turian passed. He paused, turning around to face his crew mate.

"What is it?"

"Have you seen Shepard? Liara was looking for her."

Garrus blinked, "In her quarters, wasn't she?" He felt his arousal dissipate as quickly as it had snuck up on him. If Liara and Tali wanted to have girl time, shopping or whatever with the Commander, his libido was going to have to wait.

"No." Tali stated, "Looked like she hurried out. Left her door open."

"Hurried out?" Garrus squinted at the quarian, her reflective eyes meeting his behind her tinted mask.

Tali shrugged, "Worried about her. Shepard never 'hurries out'. Hoping you would have known, is all."

Garrus felt his heart knock in his chest, "Are you sure she's not on the ship?"

"EDI's running diagnostics and the repair crews are working in the hull, so it's possible the scans missed her, but the computers say Shepard's not detected."

Something was wrong. _Pull it together. _ This was so minor, a million explanations as to where their Commander could be and Shepard more than capable of taking care of herself, but there was a deep feeling of dread in his gut. Maybe it was that she was his girlfriend now, somewhat officially, or that the he'd come to terms with his own feelings for her, but Garrus didn't care.

He needed to make sure it actually was an electrical malfunction or that Shepard had stepped out with Liara already and mis-communicated with Tali. _Shepard got us out of a collector base. If Liara found Shepard, Tali wouldn't be talking to you. She doesn't not communicate. _

As much as Garrus tried to stay calm, Tali was a smart girl and worked with him enough to read him better than he liked, "You think something's wrong?"

"I think we need to find Shepard."

Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the positive response to this story! **

**Chapter 2: **

Garrus hesitated in front of the door. You didn't simply barge into a woman's room, let alone Commander Shepard's. Tali stood beside him, leaning against the wall beside the door, "Knock?" She stated, raising her voice if asking a question. The door was closed now, which already made Garrus feel better about the situation. _Maybe Shepard already came back_. _But it probably automatically shuts after a certain amount of time. Security features. Well, no way to find out by sitting here and staring at it. _He raised his fist, knocking, "Shepard?"

No response. No sound of water running in the bathroom as if she were in the shower, "Shepard? Commander? You there?" He knocked harder, and the two stood waiting.

Garrus cleared his throat, raising his hand to knock for a last time, "For the love of everything." Tali hissed, waving her omni tool over the holographic lock on the door. Apparently she had the same ill feelings as him if she was going as far as to break in. To his surprise, the door popped open, "not even locked."

Another bad sign.

He let the quarian take the lead into the doorway, feeling it was more appropriate as it was a female's room. Then he mentally slapped himself over the fact the room was empty. EDI had told them so when they were playing with her in the comm. Room as to avoid a potentially embarrassing misunderstanding, as had Shepard's lack of reply. None of the skeleton crew working on repairs in the cargo bay had seen her go anywhere. They were on their own to figure out where Shepard wandered off to. _Let's hope she 'wandered off'. _The turian pushed unpleasant thoughts from his mind.

Garrus strode forward, passing the faint glow of the fish tanks, the little yellow creatures gathering around the surface, "Looks like the fish are hungry." Tali commented and poked her head into the bathroom, "She's not in here."

The woman stepped forward and pressed the control on the wall which dispensed little flakes of food into the water of the aquarium. Garrus turned away from it, sighing, "Bigger things to worry about right now."

"I don't suppose Shepard would be pleased to come back and find her fish malnourished." Tali said, returning to the bathroom, "Her makeup's on the floor."

"Everything is on the floor. Always." For the way she ran her ship with a strict hand, her cabin never expressed it. _Which, _Garrus realized, _means there's no way to tell if there was a struggle. _The room did look a little messier than it normally did, but he was a neat freak. Shepard's organizations skills always disturbed him. A hard comparison. He glanced around, looking desperately for anything out of place.

He stepped down into the sleeping area, the sheets ripped off the bed and in the center of the room, "that's a little abnormal."

"Even for her?"

"It's like someone dragged them." Garrus stated, unable to wrap him mind around why Shepard would rip her bedding off the mattress and leave it on the floor, "Let's pull the security footage up, don't say anything to the crew, just want to make sure no one came in here."

"You and me both." Tali said, going to work on her omni tool, quietly asking EDI, "Have you seen Shepard? What's our security status?"

"_Systems were down for approximately twenty minutes for reboot and repairs. Approved by Commander Shepard. Security footage should have remained online. No distress signals from top cabin. Loading security footage now." _

Garrus waited, anxiously, watching Tali's omni tool load a holographic video display from the hallway outside of Shepard's cabin. The quarian fast forwarded the recording, running through it twice, the door swung open once where Shepard poked her head out into the hallway before retreating back into the room. She left the door open and stepped out. Tali appeared a few frames later, poking her head into the door and calling in for Shepard before leaving.

"Any idea of where she went, EDI?"

"_The crew is on shore leave, as authorized by Commander Shepard. It is not within my programming to keep tabs on them without being on working hours. Commander Shepard did not specify a location upon her departure. My monitoring systems were online during that time." _

Garrus stared at the screen, "go through it again." He said to Tali.

"I'm not sure Shepard would appreciate this, but, you are right." She stated, fingers flying over the buttons on her omni tool, "Something seems odd. Watch." She pointed, "Why would she look out into the hallway? No one was there."

"How reliable is this footage?"

"_The cameras should not have gone offline. This is still a secure vessel, Mr. Vakarian." _

He sensed sass in the AI's voice, something which would have amused him if it hadn't been for the situation, "Check the systems, EDI." Garrus told the machine.

"_Affirmative, beginning scans. Three minutes remaining." _

"I'll call Liara's office." Tali said, going to do it. Immediately the asari answered her phone.

"_Liara T'Soni speaking." _She sounded stuffy, stressed.

"Liara, it's Tali from the _Normandy. _Is Shepard with you?"

"_No, I was hoping you would have located her by now." _Liara's voice sounded tight as well, _"Where is she?" _

"She's…" Tali hesitated, Garrus shrugged when she turned to face him, "Missing as for the moment."

_"Missing?" _

"We don't know where she is." Tali explained, "We were hoping you would have seen her."

"_I cannot reach her either." _Liara stated, _"That doesn't sound like the Commander." _

"No. That is why we are calling."

"_Two minutes remaining!" _EDI's voice distracted him from eavesdropping on the conversation. Garrus wanted the AI to hurry up, but things could only go so fast. He took a deep breath ,Tali, who at some point hung up, went back to searching around the room, "G-Garrus?" Her voice had a trembling quality, his heart beat harder against his ribs.

"What?"

Tali pointed to the ground, underneath the bed. Shepard's sidearm. Garrus was the one brave enough to reach underneath and grab it. No, not her sidearm, but the pistol he knew she kept inside the top drawer of her nightstand which was cracked open. A small caliber self defense pistol.

"The safety's off. This is what she sleeps with in her drawer." He said, thankful that Tali didn't seem keen to ask how he knew that. Hell, Tali must have known. Everyone knew. Garrus supposed he didn't mind that.

"This is not good." Tali said.

"_Scanning completed." _EDI hummed, "_Error detected. Security systems compromised." _The AI went on to list numbers which he didn't understand, running through her own diagnostics.

Tali answered, breathlessly, "this is not good."

_No shit. _But he didn't say that. This wasn't Tali's fault. Garrus steadied himself, pressing the communicator in his ear. Hopefully Jacob was still online, "Hey, Taylor, could you get back here? I think we have a problem."

"_What's the problem?" _

"Just get back here. Or rather, meet us at Liara's office." That was the best thing he could think of, Liara knew everything that was going on Illium. She could probably get them access to security footage from around the docks, as their limited view wasn't going to cut it. All they knew was Shepard left the ship forty eight minutes prior, "Stay quiet about it."

"_Erm…everything okay?" _Jacob didn't seem pleased about his shore leave being interrupted, but Garrus knew he'd get over it once they were safely in Liara's office. _Abduction. _He realized, Shepard was valuable. Someone might have hacked their systems. He'd check into it once Liara was on the same page.

"No. Just come."

"_Where's Shepard?" _

Garrus paused, wondering how to answer such a question, "That's what we're wondering."

A return pause on Jacob's end, Garrus waited for him, listening to Tali frantically going through security protocols with EDI, locking down various sectors of the ship, _"It appears there was…a system breach…running diagnostics._"

"So you're saying there was foul play?" Garrus asked.

"_Something out of the ordinary. Too early to tell. Security breach definite." _

That was all Garrus needed. The gun on the floor. She'd been afraid of something. It made his guts twist with rage, the idea of anyone treating Shepard with something less than respect. "Ground her." Garrus ordered, hoping EDI was alright with taking orders from him, "Send a message to Joker to watch himself when he returns."

"_Sending encrypted message." _EDI hummed, her monotone voice frustratingly calm.

"Now we head for Liara?" Tali asked, "I'll call her again."

"Yeah." Garrus said, "Let's move."

* * *

Thanks for reading! Not the best chapter I've ever written, but I wanted to get another one out tonight :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks again for the responses to this story! This is pretty much an AU in case you guys didn't realize that already :P, My plot doesn't fit in well with the cannon of ME 3. **

**Chapter 3: **

It was dark, dark and cold. Her eyes stung, arms throbbed. _What? _Shepard blinked several times, coughing. Her throat tickled, burned. Shepard coughed harder, blinking again, looking around. Why was her room so dark?

Bed strangely hard underneath her— she realized she wasn't in her cabin anymore. In a dark, dank room. Sitting on the floor. Not her bed. She went to shift, realizing her arms were stuck behind her back, the cruel bite of metal handcuffs against her wrists, "_Ahh." _She moaned, softly, blinking harder, trying to get rid of the burning in her eyes, in her throat.

Tired mind unable to wrap fully around the situation with which she was faced. _Do something. Do anything. _Dull thoughts from the back of her mind.

_Wake up, Shepard, wake the fuck up! _Her thoughts screamed at her, body felt sluggish, aching.

_That's it, stay awake, think. _This wasn't right. She knew she wasn't alright, but she couldn't seem to get her mind to grasp it. Dark metallic walls of the room seemed to ripple and spin around her. Shepard shut her eyes. _Alright, keep your eyes closed but think, dammit think, where the hell are you? _

She remembered the collector base. Narrowly getting away, back through the Omega-4 relay. Then heading to Illium for the injured. The closest place to get medical attention. Better than going to Omega. She coughed again, a deep fit which forced the dryness from her lungs, eyes watered.

The headache of a hangover pounded into her skull, Shepard moaned. _You're not hungover. You didn't even get a chance to go out! _She leaned her head back. _Well, maybe you should have had that 'first date' with Garrus last night. _

Last night? Dread. How long had she been unconscious? Her clothes were still on—the same sweats she'd gone to sleep in. That was one good sign. Shepard shook her head again, coughing and sputtering, straining to see in a room which seemed to be nothing but darkness and metal walls.

_Think. Just think. _

She settled on something easy—retracing her steps—something that should have been easy but was exhausting in her mental state. _Think! _Her anxiety started to catch up, breaking through her groggy mind. _You're drugged, you are drugged out of your mind right now. _

Shepard fought, struggled to keep her eyes open. She squirmed against the handcuffs. She was flexible, she could probably get her body through after her arms. Hauling herself forward was the next challenge. Her knees ached from being folded underneath her too long—_shit. _

Her arms were bound to the wall, her ankles bound together. _You're fine. _Survival training was a part of N7, physiological torment to see if future soldiers were able to get through dire situations without cracking. Shepard's mind was too tired to wrap around the direness of her situation, and she used it to her advantage. A crude cargo room. Crude binds.

Deep breath. Forcing heartbeat to slow. _Okay. Figure this out. Timeline. _

Liara had mentioned meeting, but she'd intended to put it off until the following morning as to get rest. She remembered Garrus knocking on her door. In hindsight, she should have gotten him in her bed then and there. Kept him with her. _But then he would've been in danger too. Someone took you out of your room. Right? _

Lying down to sleep, taking an over-the-counter sleep-aid. Something Jack recommended when they first started on their adventure toward the collectors. It had worked well. Made her groggy, something she'd never want to get used to but tolerated for her first real rest in a long time. It slowed her mind down and allowed her to rest. Prevented the all-too-common reflection and self-torture which haunted her every night.

She remembered Garrus coming into her room. Either Garrus or Tali. Probably Garrus as Tali would have no reason to break in and she'd set her lock to allow Garrus if he tried, hoping he'd get over his shyness now that they'd fucked and join her in bed one night. Let her curl against him as she had in their much too short time before reaching the forbidden relay. _Yes, _she realized, finding a moment of happiness, _he joined you. Came back from his wandering. _She remembered him sitting on the bed, his clawed hand stroking over her hair—mumbling something. The warm, softness of turian scales against her arm as he came up to her. Shepard reveled in the memory.

He'd gotten over his timidity and she was pleased, grateful for the companionship.

She remembered breath on her neck, weight on her bed. Had they made love? No, they hadn't. She'd been too tired. He'd simply sat with her for a little while, running long fingers down her back while she dozed lightly. Neither spoke. _Stay calm, after that. _Shepard tried to visualize his face when he'd come in, tried to remember. Something to keep her calm. Something better than fixating on her situation.

A pleasant chill as he worked the knots out from her back, _'mmmh…Garrus….I'm tired'. _She'd said something like that, along those lines. Try as she might, Shepard couldn't recall a reply. She dug around in her memory, something felt wrong.

_Think. What happened? _

_ "I bet you are." _

Awake then, breathing hard.

Then nightmares, being smothered, clawing around her bed sheets. Something over her mouth.

_Garrus didn't fucking come into your room! _Her mind screamed at her. The voice, turian, dual toned. But different, so very different. Shepard leaned her head back, feeling another surge of exhaustion, wondering what in hell they'd drugged her with because the little bottle of cherry flavored syrup she'd bought at the pharmacy certainly wasn't this strong.

_ They'll realize you're gone. He'll realize you're gone. _Shepard told herself, exhaling, _until then, you've got to get your own ass out of here. Please, they weren't on the ship, please, please, my crew was on shore leave. They were safe. _Nothing could happen to her crew. Not after tossed her head back against the wall out of frustration, squirming against her binds. Being angry was a lot easier than being scared.

**Thanks for reading! Sorry it's short but I wanted to update tonight! **


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you so much for all of the reviews, favorites and follows!

**Chapter 4: **

Garrus didn't like Liara's office. Too many windows. Considering her occupation, he assumed they were blacked out and reinforced, but he still felt too open staring out over the marketplace. How Liara sat all day with her back to them was a mystery. He looked out, watching the bustle of merchants below him, life going on like nothing was wrong. It was strange how one turian's catastrophe was another's fine night doing business. Flickering neon signs and disappearing taillights. High rises in the distance as far as he could see, massive structures fading into the night.

"Normandy's security footage showed she left on her own will, right? She did leave the ship? You sure? You saw her go out the door on the feed?" Liara asked, they'd already been over it several times but Garrus didn't say anything. The asari was being frustratingly obtuse and vague about the matter, "You're the only three who know?"

"Yes." Garrus replied, "Tali, Jacob and I."

Liara stood, joining him at the window, "There is nothing to worry about." She said. Garrus felt his heart pound harder.

"What?" He growled, turning toward her. With two strides he closed the distance between them. Liara stood her ground. He was going to rip her head off, just needed to figure out the words to use, figure out what to say. Garrus wracked his brain for the best way to put Liara in her place without showing off his own inner distress.

_"This is Illium!" _She hissed, jaw tightening.

Garrus' anger deflated as soon as it came on. He saw concern in Liara's shining eyes. '_This is Illium. Someone is probably listening to us right now'. _

He paused, Tali picked at her omni-tool, beginning to walk the perimeter of the room. Liara's eyes traced the quarian. Jacob stood with his arms folded, eyes on the door. Unofficially falling into the role of their guard. A few more tense moments, so quiet he could hear his own breathing.

"Clean." Tali said, "No radio signals, no nothing. We should be safe to talk."

"Thanks." Liara replied, slinking into her chair and folding her hands tightly as if they were meeting for her business. Garrus noticed the slight tremble in her arms, "So…Something happened to her after she left the ship." The woman pulled up a holographic screen, "Let's see where she went."

"You have access to the cameras?"

"I'm a very good information broker, Garrus."

He cleared his throat, "Right."

Liara exhaled, looking at the screen, "This is the docking bay." She said, pointing. The footage rewound, "Not a very good view of the Normandy exit."

Garrus sighed, "Right. They have her dry docked and on the struts for repairs so her orientation is funny."

"Can't see anything." Liara muttered.

"You have any other cameras?"

"Only around my office, the trading floor and the police station. It'll take me time to hack the others. I'm not the only information broker out here, Garrus." She said, tapping at her keyboard, "Those are unsecured connections, it will have to take me some time to handle it securely."

"We don't have time—"

"We have to make time. Someone realizes she's missing and this will blow up into news bigger than when she showed up at the Citadel after being dead." Liara stated, "Let's hope she's fine but if I had to guess, they're looking for ransom."

Garrus supposed the asari was right in her concern. If the media got a hold of the fact Shepard was MIA, it was another can of worms in itself, "What do you know? Anyone notable in town?"

"No one as big as Samara if that's what you're asking. Small timers. No one who should have been able to pull off bothering the _Normandy _crew. I'll do some digging. Speaking of which—where's the rest of your crew?"

Garrus glanced at Jack, "Miranda took off— leaving Cerberus didn't go over well for her. Jack took off too, but I think she's still on Illium. Samara's long gone. Looks like Mordin got a job at the clinic. Grunt's looking for a ticket on a flight back to Wrex." Jacob listed off, "And Shepard was ordered back to Earth by the alliance as soon as the _Normandy's _repaired."

It dawned on the turian man for the first time that Shepard was going to be leaving too. She had to get back to her people, he had to go to his. They had to prepare for the incoming threat. _Worry about that after you find her. _

"How long will the repairs be?"

"Ten to fifteen days." Jacob answered, "No clear answer."

"How are we so certain she didn't just go on a walk?" Tali said.

Garrus couldn't accept that, "She would've been back. Something's wrong."

"Something's very wrong." Liara agreed, "We need to figure out what. You _actually saw _her leave the _Normandy _on the cameras?_" _

Garrus opened his mouth and shut it, hating himself for the obviousness of what Liara pointed out, "We…saw her leaving her room."

Liara glared at him, "Pull it up then. All of it."

Tali accessed the footage. It showed Shepard heading for the crew floor after leaving her cabin, coming in front of the galaxy map. She hugged herself and looked around. _You're an idiot. You never checked to see if she ever left the ship! _

She headed down in the elevator, this time to the crew floor, meandering about as if she was doing some half-hearted inspection of the damaged ship. Garrus' heart leapt as she headed down the hallway for the gun battery and opened the door. Shepard poked her head inside and turned around, heading back for the elevator. She'd been looking for him, and he'd been out wandering like a lost fool in the streets of Illium. Garrus' heart thumped heavily in his chest. Guilt was cold and consuming; the turian did his best to shake it off. _Can't help anything now. _

"Wait." Liara said, "Then she disappears."

"She's not in the elevator." Tali said, "She never came out."

"Wasn't stuck in there, was she?" Jacob asked, "Or on the roof?" The three looked at him, "Never mind. It's an old human movie."

If the man was trying to make a joke, Garrus didn't find it funny. He kept that opinion to himself, though. What happened dawned on him suddenly, "Shit!" He growled, clicking his teeth, "Look at that skip. Go back!"

Tali did as she was told. One moment Shepard's door was open, and it stayed open for twenty minutes. The next frame it closed, "Go back again! Slow it down!" Liara said.

The door didn't close. One frame it was open the next it shut. There was no movement of the metal, no flickering of the lock as it came back online.

Garrus let out a growl, resisting the urge to plant his fist in the desk. It looked expensive. Liara would not be pleased with him, "The tapes!" He growled, "EDI's update. Someone looped the tapes!"

* * *

Well that explains some things…

Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading! Sorry it's another short one!


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the delay. Lots of work lately! Thanks for all the reads and reviews as always!

**Chapter 5: **

"Who, then?" Liara demanded, standing up, "Who could have done this?"

"You're the information broker!" Garrus growled, "You tell me!"

"Cerberus?"

"Doesn't seem like their style." Jacob defended, "Why go through the trouble?"

"They do have access to the _Normandy." _Tali replied, "But why take Shepard?"

"Maybe if they couldn't have her, no one could." Jacob suggested, Garrus didn't think that was the best reason for Cerberus to kidnap anyone, let alone someone with a following like Shepard, but he kept the opinion to himself. Cerberus would logically be the only ones with the knowledge to hack EDI. But there was more than that, not only had they hacked EDI, but attacked the AI at its most vulnerable. Exactly when she'd been updating her systems.

"How'd they know that she was updating?" Garrus asked, the group glanced around. Uneasy eyes unable to find a fixed spot to settle.

Liara exhaled and went to her laptop, pulling up the security footage of the hanger, "_Can't see anything." _She muttered, swearing.

"Start working on getting the other cameras, then."

"Should I get Miranda?" Jacob asked. Garrus found himself in the middle of the group, everyone muttering different opinions.

"Thought she was long gone." The turian stated.

"She is." Jacob replied, "She is. But I can try to reach her, surf through the secure frequencies."

Garrus paused for a moment, if it was Cerberus, he wasn't sure he wanted to get Miranda involved. Likely the corporation kept tabs on her as well, "Too risky." He decided, "Not unless you're a hundred percent sure she hasn't gone back to her old affiliations."

"I doubt that she ever would." The human said, but they let the point drop. A knock at Liara's door. Everyone paused, again restless eyes looking from face to face. Whoever it was knocked harder.

Liara pressed her intercom, "T'soni."

_"Hey…uh…what's going on up here?" _

So they hadn't been as quiet as he thought in heading across the trading floor. He was going to have to work on that. Garrus exhaled, again forcing himself to remain calm. "Can I ask who this is?" Liara asked as steadily as if she were carrying out any other business negotiation.

_"Jack. From the Normandy. Saw a bunch of my crew walking up here looking like they were sucking on lemons—" _

Liara let go of the intercom and Garrus gave her a nod. No point in losing an ally now. The doors popped open, allowing Jack to strut through the opening. It took a few minutes and Jack throwing a bitch fit which thankfully didn't cause too much damage, but at the end everyone was calm again, caught up to speed and gathering around Liara's desk as they discussed their next movement.

"What about that shifty ass bar where the slavers were selling upstairs? Think somebody would've hired out of there?" Jack asked.

"No." Liara stated, continuing to tap at her keyboard.

"Hey. None of you _professionals_ seem to be keen on coming up with real advice." Jack stated, leaning over Liara's desk again, "Anyone got a better idea?"

Liara's head snapped up, "This is the center floor. Headquarters, capital of all trade. Trust me, if anyone was hiring for a job this big…they're not doing it here. It would have to be no one Shepard or her crew recognizes. Therefore no names. Logically, it is the only way they could pull it off." Liara said.

"How'd they get on the _Normandy_?" Jack asked.

"Security systems overridden. They walked on." Garrus replied. If they could loop the tapes, they sure as hell could pop open the airlock and none of the crew was even around to stop them. The ship was being repaired and they were on leave. Mission over. Their guard had been as low as he ever remembered. Tired, injured, relieved. No one expected so much as a haggler out on the street, let alone this mess.

Liara continued, "There is a place. A place where a lot of freelance mercs are hired—_Empire. _A bar about ten blocks from here. The bad side of town."

"Sounds like my kind of place." Garrus ignored Jack's comment.

"A lot of organized crime there, just outside of the police station jurisdiction. Maybe someone was hired out of there. I know there are no cameras inside, cops are shot if they get near it. If something big's going down, it's going down there. I say check." Liara suggested, "That's the best I can think of now."

"Doesn't help us if we don't know who we're looking for." Tali replied.

Garrus decided he had enough of the claustrophobic walls of Liara's office, he needed to do something, "I guess some of us should head over there, pretend like we're looking to hire?"

"Jack will blend in." Liara said without looking at her, "I can try to find someone suspicious once I get the rest of the cameras up."

"I take that as a compliment, blue lady." Jack replied, "You with me, ugly?" She nudged Garrus in the side.

Of all the things he imagined doing after the attack on the collector base, walking into a bar with Jack wasn't one of them. She leaned into him, Garrus offered his elbow for her to take as they walked in, "Will you stop acting like such a cold bastard?"

"What's your problem, now?" _Well, she's Jack we could probably make a list of issues which would run the length of the Normandy six times. _

"Just because I'm not the one fucking you doesn't mean you can sit on your hands all night. You look like an idiot." She said, strutting to the first table and sitting down. Garrus sat beside her, figuring he ought to stop getting surprised about how many people knew about him and Shepard. Jack leaned her head on him as a group of giggling drunks sauntered past, "Go with it, will you?"

The music blared, bass vibrating the glasses on the table. He wasn't sure he liked having to shout, "Liara?" He called out.

"_Here…Still trying to find a back door into the marketplace and dock security cameras. We won't leave you hanging." _

Garrus supposed it was all he could ask for, and forced himself to lean back. Jack's weight against his, "They're definitely selling something over there." A group of people around the bar. Omnitools glowing against the darkness, obvious swaps of credits. Pill bottles passed underneath long sleeves.

"Heh. Hallex." Jack said, laughing as if she was remembering something fondly, "Guess you don't rave much?"

"Guess I don't." He muttered. Criminals hadn't been quite so obvious on the Citadel, but C-Sec ran their operation with much tighter reins . This was a free-for-all. It made Garrus deeply uncomfortable.

Liara's voice in his ear made him jump, his headset crackled to life, "_I have something funny. Three turians walked down the docking bay, but they don't come back. This camera shorted out at some point, and that's the only group I can't account for leaving the docking bay." _

His heart kicked up, "You sure, anything defining about them?"

"_The resolution isn't very good, that's the best I have. Only see them from the back on the footage, three turian males. For certain. And certainly shouldn't have been walking down Normandy's dock." _

"Thanks."

He stood up, Jack took the lead. She reached the end of the bar, flagging town the tender, "Hey!" She called out, elbowing through the crowd of partiers.

The turian man set out two glasses, pouring them each shots of vodka before they had a chance otherwise, "I'm looking for somebody to do a job. I hear there are some turians willing to do just about anything." She downed the shot of vodka and tapped it out the counter.

"What kind of job?" He folded his arms, pausing to wave at another customer.

"Do I fucking look like I need my flower beds weeded?" Jack leaned over the bar, more aggressively, "Come on. You know what I'm looking for." Garrus downed his drink.

"Someone good." He added, "We don't want a mess."

The bar tender laughed, "Depends on what you're willing to pay. Think the group you're looking for already headed out."

"Know a way to get a hold of them?" Garrus asked, hoping they were on the right track. He supposed if the tape was looped again and they were the only ones who didn't come back, there was good reason to make them the prime suspects.

The bartender shook his head, "No sir. Only know they pick up work around town. Don't hand out names here." He laughed.

"We're looking for a group. There are three of them. Heard they work as a team or something."

"Ring leader and his followers." The bartender answered, "They're not here. Don't know anything."

"Well that's useless." Jack said, pushing herself back into the crowd. Garrus paid the tab and they returned to the booth.

"Well, we know there are three turians hired for these kind of jobs. I say that's a good lead." He stated, "Need to figure out who they are."

"I say we go back and get a look at that footage." Jack cracked her knuckles, sending a flicker of biotics to knock a glass off the neighboring table while the man wasn't looking, "Shepard's a tough bitch. She'll hold out."

_Thanks for reading! _


End file.
